2024-01-01 05:00:00
Each end of the year is an opportunity to look back on the months that have just passed. It’s also the perfect time to look forward to the new year that is beginning.
In this regard, from a historical point of view, some noteworthy anniversaries will be noted in Quebec in 2024. Here is a non-exhaustive overview.
The 250e of the Quebec Act
On June 22, we will mark the 250th anniversary of this act which constitutes one of the first great moments in the constitutional history of Quebec. Fourteen years after the fall of New France into the hands of the British and eleven years after the Royal Proclamation, which aimed to assimilate the Canadian population of French origin, the Quebec Act of 1774 embodies a momentary renunciation of assimilatory aims among the British authorities. It should be placed in the context of the revolutionary movement in the American colonies. London then wanted to attract the sympathy of the French-speaking population, particularly its elites, by abolishing the oath of the test and by recognizing in particular the Catholic religion, French civil laws and therefore the seigneurial regime: three important institutional and cultural particularities of the Canadian population at the time.
In 2024, we will mark the 250th anniversary of the Quebec Act, adopted on June 22, 1774. In the document in the photo, Governor Guy Carleton presented the provisions of the new law to the inhabitants of the Province of Quebec in 1774. Canadian Museum of History
The 50e of the Official Language Act
Adopted by the National Assembly and sanctioned on July 31, 1974, the Official Language Act, or Law 22, proclaimed French for the first time as the one and only official language of Quebec. It is this last aspect which gives all its importance to this law, which will not last long…
Put forward by the government of Robert Bourassa to put an end to the linguistic crisis that Quebec has been going through since the end of the 1960s, it is however unanimously against it. Francophones consider it lacking in bite while Anglophones find it discriminatory. It will be replaced by Bill 101, passed by the Parti Québécois in 1977.
50 years of Superfrancofête
Still in the linguistic field, the year 1974 was the scene of an important cultural event demonstrating the excitement of the time and the momentum of affirmation of Quebec youth. It was the Superfrancofête, which took place in Quebec from August 13 to 24, 1974, and was attended by representatives of several French-speaking countries. The opening show brought together on stage none other than Félix Leclerc, Gilles Vigneault and Robert Charlebois for a concert on the Plains of Abraham. It was then that they gave a now iconic show entitled I saw the wolf, the fox and the lionattended by more than 100,000 spectators!
After the ransacking of the James Bay construction site by FTQ agents, the government of Robert Bourassa created the Cliche commission on March 27, 1974. It was responsible for investigating union freedom in construction. Judge Robert Cliche chairs the commission, assisted by Brian Mulroney and Guy Chevrette. BAnQ
Some other important birthdays in 2024
- March 21 will be the 50th anniversary of the ransacking of James Bay by an agent of the FTQ. This coup will be at the origin, during the same year, of the creation of the famous Cliche Commission on freedom of association in construction.
- August 19 will mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Montreal patriot leader and politician, Denis-Benjamin Viger.
- The 150th of the birth of journalist Olivar Asselin, November 8.
- The 350th anniversary of the founding of Pointe-Aux-Trembles.
On November 8, we will mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the fiery journalist Olivar Asselin. BAnQ
In short, lots of great projects in perspective await to be revisited by historians in the coming year. By the same token, great opportunities present themselves to remember and better understand these events and people who have marked our collective history.
In the meantime, I wish everyone a happy new year 2024!
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